Materials and Manufacturing Processes, 22: 898902, 2007

Copyright Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

ISSN: 1042-6914 print/1532-2475 online
DOI: 10.1080/10426910701451713

Effect of Punch Geometry in the Deep Drawing

Process of Aluminium
S. M. Mahdavian and Tui Mei Yen Fion

School of Aerospace, Mechanical, and Manufacturing Engineering, RMIT University, Bundoora Victoria, Australia

The effect of different punches head prole on deep drawing of 5005 H34 Aluminium circular blanks to manufacture a cup-shape product
were studied. Experiments were conducted by a 150 ton hydraulic press with using different punches geometry and lubricants viscosity. The
drawing force, blank holder pressure, and movement of the punch were measured during experiments to monitor effects of various manufacturing
parameters during the drawing process. The surface nish and dimensions of all cups were determined after drawing processes. The geometry of
the punch inuences the friction force between the blank and punch, and consequently the stretching bottom surface of the cup. The Flat punch
geometry produced cups with better surface nish, higher drawing force, and thinner cup wall thickness in comparison to other punches geometry.
The Bore punch geometry enhances the stretching of the bottom part of the cup. The presence of lubricant in the process improves the stretching
of bottom part of a cup for all punches prole.

Keywords Aluminium; Deep drawing; Forming; Punch; Surface nish.

1. Introduction This article aims to study the effect of different punches

Deep drawing is one of the common processes in sheet
metal forming. The drawing of a cylindrical cup-shape from
a at circular sheet metal blank is the simplest drawing
operation that has been used by numerous researchers
to study the effects of material properties, production
parameters, lubrication, and tools geometry on product
quality and control of the drawing process. The study of
formability of the sheet metal in the deep drawing of
a cylindrical cup has been the subject of comprehensive
theoretical and experimental analyses by researchers in the
past and recent years. A review of the different aspects of the
deep drawing process is given in Shao [1], He [2], and Zeng
[3]. The variation of the wall thickness in cup drawing has
been noticed in experiments by researchers and a review of
the cup-drawing process and cup thickness changes is given
by Johnson and Mello [4] in their book. Mahdavian and
He [5] have developed an analytical model and validated
by experimental results to predict the variation in the wall
thickness of the cup. Even though the reduction of thickness
is important in the weight reduction, functionality, and
dimensional control of a product in practice, part of the
drawn section of a product that is in contact with the
punch is normally undeformed and its thickness remains
the same thickness as the original blank. The undeformed
section under the punch and blank contact in most cases
compromises a large section of undeformed blank and may
not require the same thickness as the original thickness of
the blank. A cup or product with a higher height or uniform
thickness can be drawn if the blank located underneath the
punch is deformed or stretched.
Received July 10, 2006; Accepted December 30, 2006
Address correspondence to S. M. Mahdavian, School of Aerospace,
Mechanical, and Manufacturing Engineering, RMIT University, P.O.
Box 71, Bundoora Victoria 3083, Australia; E-mail: mehdi.mahdavian@
rmit.edu.au
898
end face geometry on the deformation of a blank underneath
the punch surface. A deep drawing process rig with
experimental measurements has been designed and built for
this purpose and experiments were conducted by different
punches geometry to draw cup-shape products from 5005
H34 Aluminium blanks. The changes in friction force
between the punchs head and blank as the result of using
different lubricants and its role in the deformation have been
investigated.
2. Experimental setup
Extensive experiments have been carried out with strips
and circular blanks to investigate the effect of different
punch geometry. The main experimental equipment used is
a 150 ton hydraulic press, which is shown in Fig. 1. A cup
drawing die and punch with a blank holder were designed,
manufactured, and tted into two guided posts die set
device. The die is placed in the die holding device precisely
to maintain a uniform clearance and precise alignment with
the punch. The blank holder is mounted on four pneumatic
cylinders that exert a preset blank holder force during the
drawing process.
The punch force is measured by a load cell that is
positioned between the press ram and punch. The blank
holder force is measured by means of four small proving
rings with cemented strain gauges between the pneumatics
driving shafts and the plank holder plate. The displacement
between the punch and die is measured by means of a linear
displacement transducer (LVDT).
Outputs from these sensors are amplied as voltage
changes through the data acquisition and DT Vee software.
Constant clamping forces were used throughout
experiments for all four punches to ensure the formation
of a complete nondefective cup and to prevent wrinkling
of the blank. The clamping force was established by trial
runs. The adjustment was made by the air inlet controller
to the pneumatic cylinders. For 650 kPa blank hold down
EFFECT OF PUNCH GEOMETRY
Figure 1.Deep drawing tool installed on the 150 ton hydraulic press.
pressure, wrinkling was prevented for nonlubricated blanks
while the pressure was increased to 750 kPa for lubricated
blanks.
3. Punch geometry
The main objective of the project is to investigate the
effect of different punches head geometry on hight, wall
thickness, and surface nish of the drawn product.
Four different punches geometry, as shown in Fig. 2,
have been designed and manufactured. Punches were made
of Alloy Steel VEW K110 Special DNL from Bohler Steels
Manufacturer. Punches were heat-treated to 60 RC. The
Figure 2.Detail drawing of punches geometry, dimensions in milimeters.
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outside diameter of all punches is 61.8 mm. Each punch can
be installed over 45 mm press ram and xed to the ram by
3 mm Grub screw.
A die with bore dimeter 63.17 mm has been used to
deform the blank into a cup shape by a punch. This has
maintained the same clearance between the die and different
punches throughout all experiments.
4. Aluminum blank
Samples used in experiment were circular blanks cut from
Aluminium 50005 H34 sheet with 1 mm nominal thickness.
Experiments were conducted by using Engine oil Grade
130 with viscosity 19.89 cSt, Engine oil Grade 6216 with
viscosity 51.37, and dry condition without any lubricants.
All samples were painted and dried before the experiment.
The painted surface allows better detection of changes on
the surface condition of a drawn cup. A well-lubricated
product with an established thick lubricant lm will prevent
the direct contact between the blank and the tools surfaces.
This will show minimal scratches or even no scratches over
the painted surface of the blank during the deformation
process. In contrast, for the unlubricated case, the products
surface is scratched and even the paint is removed.
5. Experimental procedures and results
5.1. Process Observations
Preliminary tests were conducted to ascertain process
behavior, to record responses from various measurement
devices, and to measure product dimensions for assessing
the effect of punch geometry on drawing of aluminium
blanks. The main observations that were different from
commonly anticipated behavior for conventional drawing
operations are described in the following sections.
5.2. Effect of Punch Geometry on Cups
Bottom Thickness
Numerous experiments were conducted with four
different punches with and without application of lubricant
to blanks. The thicknesses of a cups bottom was measured
at different locations and for several cups the average
measurements of the bottom thickness of drawn cups are
plotted in Fig. 3.
Figure 3.Variation of the cups bottom thickness with punch geometry for
different lubricants viscosities.
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The average blank thickness range is between 0.94
0.96 mm before drawing. As shown in Fig. 3 for dry or none
lubricated condition the thickness of a drawn cup remains
within the thickness range of the blank. Particularly, for
the Flat punch, the thickness of the drawn cup remains
unchanged. For the nonlubricated case, the reduction in
surface contact of the punch face with the blank has slightly
enhanced the stretching of the bottom of the cup. This is
also signicant for the Bore punch geometry in comparison
to the at punch. The inuence of lubrication reverses the
changes in the thickness of the cups bottom section and it
increases the thickness which is less implied to cups drawn
by the Flat punch. To explain the reason or reasons for
this phenomenon requires considering other factors such as
the changes in a cups wall thickness, drawing force, and
surface nish of a cup, collectively.
5.3. Effects of Punch Geometry on the
Cups Wall Thickness
As shown in Fig. 4, for both unlubricated and lubricated
conditions, the Flat punch has produced a slight change in
the blank thickness, and for the lubricated conditions, the
wall thickness was thinned. The punches geometry except
the Flat punch face has produced cups thicker than the
blank holder and appears that the stretching effect has been
reduced. The punch with the Conical prole produces a
thicker wall thickness than the at punch and the same
Figure 4.(a) Variation of the cups wall thickness with different punch
geometry for different lubricants viscosities. (b) Variation of surface roughness
Ra of the Cups bottom outside surface (micrometer) for different punch
geometry.
S. M. MAHDAVIAN AND T. M. Y. FION
thickness for either lubricated or dry conditions. Figure 4
shows the stretching action is minimal for the punch with
Bore geometry. All punches except Flat punch produce both
thicker wall and more bottom thicknesses than their blank
thicknesses consistently. The Flat and Radial punches are
signicantly inuenced by applying lubricant.
5.4. Effects of Punch Geometry on the Surface
Roughness of a Drawn Cup
The comparison of surface roughness (Ra) which
represents the arithmetic roughness average for the
lubricated and nonlubricated cups reveals that the
nonlubricated cup surface has a smoother surface nish
than the lubricated cup surface. As the lubricant viscosity
increases, the external surface of the cup becomes rougher
and applies to any punch geometry. The radial punch
maintains a better lubrication than the other punches as
shown in Fig. 4.
As shown in Fig. 5, there is a different degree of scratches
on the inside wall of drawn cups. The cup drawn by the
Flat punch has the most paint removed from its surface. The
paint layer on the inside bottom surface of the cup drawn by
Radial punch remained unscratched, which denoted a lack
of contact between the blank and the punch surfaces. The
value of Ra of surface nish for the Radial punch supports
the establishment of a lubricant lm between the blank and
punch surfaces.
5.5. Effects of Punch Geometry on the Cup
Drawing Force
The punch force during drawing process was recorded
and the variation of the punch force with punch proles for
the lubricated and unlubricated cases are shown in Fig. 6.
The increase in viscosity clearly has reected on the punch
force and demonstrated an increase in the punch force. The
nonlubricated case for all punches has shown the lowest
punch force compared to the lubricated conditions. This
does not reect the reduction in friction force while the
surface nish measurements have shown the existence of
a lubricated lm thickness and consequently a reduction in
the punch force.
Figure 5.Drawn cups using different punch geometry with different degree
scratches (clockwise, from the right: Flat punch, Bore punch, Conical punch,
and Radial punch).
EFFECT OF PUNCH GEOMETRY
Figure 6.Effect of punch prole on drawing force.
In reality, the magnitude of the blank holder pressure
that grips the blank at one end and the punch force that
pushes the blank into the cavity of the die has a more
signicant effect on the punch force. As indicated earlier
about the blank holder pressures, the blank holder pressure
for lubricated cases was 1.15 time higher than in the
nonlubricated case. If the lubricated blank holder pressure
requires 15% more than the required blank holder pressure
for nonlubricated blank and makes an adjustment to the
punch force, then results become as the ones shown in
Fig. 7. This indicates that the punch force contributing to
the forming blank is higher than the lubricated blanks, and
therefore the stretching of the cups wall and the cups
bottom are higher than the other cases.
6. Discussion of results
Different aspects of punches prole effect on deep
drawing have been investigated. The geometry of a punch
inuences dimensions, surface nish, and forming force
of deep drawn product. The lubrication effect has also
enhanced these effects in some cases. Throughout all
experiments the blank holder force was adjusted to allow
the blank to ow freely into the die cavity. The reduction
in the blank diameter increases the thickness of the blank
Figure 7.Variation of drawing force with the punch prole adjusted for
blank holder pressure increment.
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under a hoop stress as the drawing progresses. The portion
of the cup between the die wall and the punch wall is subject
to nearly pure tension and tends to stretch further and to
become thinner. The thickness of the cups wall during
the drawing process is as the result of interacting between
the stretching and initial thickening of the blank. However,
factors such as friction force, formation of a lubricant lm,
blanks pressure hold-up, die expansion, punch and die
geometry inuence the dimensions of drawn cups and the
thickness changes cannot be interpreted without considering
all interacting factors collectively.
It may be noticed from experimental results the
deformation of a cups wall and cops bottom cannot be
evaluated independently due to the deformation continuity.
To demonstrate a better picture of the cups deformation,
the ratio of measured cups wall thickness to the cups
bottom thickness has been plotted in Fig. 8. It reveals that
for the nonlubricated condition, reducing the contact surface
between the blank and punchs bottom leads to a reduction
of the friction force. Consequently, the cups deformation
is more homogenous and the thickening of blank becomes
more signicant and dominates the stretching process. This
is also supported by reduction in drawing force as shown
in Fig. 7. For the Flat punch, both the surface contact and
friction force at the cups bottom are higher than other
punches, which requires a larger drawing force. In this case,
the stretching is enhanced and thicken blank deforms further
than the original blank thickness and produces a thinner
wall thickness. The higher drawing force causes further
stretching which reaches to the cups bottom. The low
surface roughness produced for nonlubricated conditions is
a further indication of existence of high-friction coefcient
for all punches prole.
The lubrication of a blank has a signicant effect on
drawn product dimensions. The formation of a lubricant lm
in the drawing process not only reduces the friction force at
the punchs head contact but also requires a lower drawing
force that associates with a lower stretching. The lubricant
with 51.3 cSt viscosity has a higher shear force at the surface
interface than the lubricant with viscosity of 19.8 cSt and
produces a higher punch force. However, the geometry
of punch prole plays an important role in establishing a
lubricant lm and its thickness. The experimental results
Figure 8.Variation ratio of wall-to-bottom thicknesses of drawn cups with
punch geometry.
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indicate the Conical punch prole produces a thin lubricant
lm thickness.
7. Conclusions
Blanks made of Aluminium 5005 H34 blank were drawn
in cup-shape products with different punches geometry. The
punch prole plays an important role in the reduction of
friction force, surface nish, drawing force, and dimensions
of the drawn product. In analyzing the results, the changes
in blank holder pressure require to be taken into account.
The dimensional changes in the cups wall and bottom
also require to be studied together for stretching analysis.
The Flat punch geometry produced cups with better surface
nish, higher drawing force, and thinner cup wall thickness
in comparison to other punches geometry. The Bore punch
geometry enhances the stretching of the bottom part of the
cup.
The effect of liquid lubricant on punches force, drawn
cup dimensions, and surface roughness were investigated.
For all punches the presence of lubricant in the drawing
process extends the stretching to the bottom part of a cup
and this effect is well revealed for Flat and Bored punches.
S. M. MAHDAVIAN AND T. M. Y. FION
The prole of the punch is important in establishing a thick
lubricant lm and this has been reected on the degree of
surface roughness of the cup. The Radial punch geometry
produces a thicker lm thickness than the other punches
in general. Further work is needed to study other punch
geometry with emphasises on punch radius and their effects
on friction force and stretching of the bottom part of a cup.
References
1. Shao, Z.M. Hydrodynamic Lubrication of Deep Drawing. M.E.
Thesis, RMIT University, Victoria, Australia, 1990.
2. He, D. Unsteady Hydrodynamic Lubrication of Deep Drawing
and Ironing Process. M.E. Thesis, RMIT University, Victoria,
Australia, 1992.
3. Zeng, X.N. Critical Conditions of Wrinkling in Deep Drawing at
Elevated Temperature. M.E. Thesis, RMIT University, Victoria,
Australia, 1997.
4. Johnson, W.; Mello, P.B. Engineering Plasticity; Van Nostrand
Reinhold Co.: New York, 1973.
5. Mahdavian, S.M.; He, D. Product thickness analysis in pure cup-
drawing. Journal of Materials Processing Technology 1995, 51,
387406.